The Road to the Prep Bowl gets underway Tuesday, October 22 as high school football teams, including the St. Louis Park Orioles begin their quest for a state tournament berth. Here's a preview the Section 5AAAAA bracket.
Quarterfinal play begins as the St. Louis Park Orioles host the Irondale Knights. The Knights armor hasn't been shining bright as they head into section play with a 2-6 record and have lost their last five games, including a 54-13 drubbing by the Hopkins Royals. Irondale is led by quarterback Griffin Bourassa who also gained 321 rushing yards this season. The Orioles are on a roll, ending the regular season with a two game winning streak to even their record at 4-4. They have been successful with Alexander Hager getting most of the snaps in the backfield with Sajid Nathim and Tobyous Davenport out due to injuries. Hager has made the most of the opportunity, rushing for five touchdowns in the final two games. He could add more against the Knights.
Now comes the bad news. The winning team will have to face the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers. The Panthers enter section play with a 6-2 record and have won five consecutive games, including a 49-14 win against St. Louis Park September 20. Spring Lake Park is a team that likes to run run run. Quarterback Zach Dunbar has 674 rushing yards and running back Henry Dennis added 642. Add this up and that's 1,316 yards combined. They're one of the favorites for the section title.
Over in the lower bracket, it's been a sunk ship for the sixth seeded Park Center Pirates since they finished the regular season 0-8. Their opponent will be the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers, one of two schools from the Minneapolis City Conference that's never been to the state tournament since the advent of the state tournament era in 1972. The other school, Minneapolis South. The Lakers, who lost their final regular season game to the unbeaten Fridley Tigers 34-7 are led by running back TK Marshall, who will wear green and gold next season at North Dakota State. Marshall is having a stellar season with 1,464 rushing yards and entered the end zone 20 times. Can the Lakers Marshall Plan lead Southwest to a potential state tournament berth?
But wait. There's the second seeded Cooper Hawks, the third section team with a 6-2 record and coming off a 57-6 rout of the DeLaSalle Islanders. The Hawks are led by The Brothers Russell, Joe is the quarterback and Sherrod is the running back. Like Spring Lake Park, Cooper is a run oriented team with Terrence Matthews also contributing in the backfield. When Joe Russell sends the ball through the air, his top target is Cornelius Wooten who led the Hawks with nine touchdowns. Mix in a strong defense and there's another section favorite.
Could a Hawks-Panthers rematch be possible or will Southwest head north for the section final November 1? Keep your eye on this section. It could be a three team race.
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